Pink
by NotLaura
Summary: The last thing he ever wanted was to take away her colour, but someone else did it for him. Joe relives his relationship with Mimi. (Mimoe/Jyoumi/Mimou)


It's a sad Mimoe/Jyoumi/Mimou. Don't hate me, I'm not really sure what I was possessed with when this came into being. I've never been that great at long stories, so I know this is kinda short. Reviews would be supremely appreciated!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em!  
  
  
  
  
  
-Pink-  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
By: Laura  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There are so many people here. She'd have been proud, in her own way. Proud that she had touched so many lives, even if just briefly. Such senseless violence... It makes everything inside of me tighten with a rage and a loss I hadn't even known was inside... until recently.  
  
  
What pointless turmoil. She wouldn't have wanted it, of any of us. This is supposed to be a place to celebrate her life. Everything is so black... it's not a colour that suits her. There's only one colour that ever suited her. Pink.  
  
  
It's such a vibrant colour, filled with life, and passion, just as she was. I saw it in her, that passion for life. I saw it in so many ways, so many places.  
  
  
I saw it in her laughter, when we were first in the Digital World. I thought she was such a pain in the ass, at first. Complaining more than I did, but she had something I didn't. She had passion.  
  
  
I saw it in her smile, even during the times we all felt we were at our lowest. She had this way, this habit, of putting herself aside when it was least expected.  
  
  
I saw it in her tears, when we thought we were leaving our Digimon forever. The way she frantically searched for Palmon... I saw passion in her then too.  
  
  
I saw it in her forgiveness, as we were leaving, and Palmon finally showed up. Her heart was so open, so sincere, so passionate.  
  
  
I saw it in her eyes the day she left for America. We all hugged her, and cried with her, and wished her well, and I saw her passion. She stated firmly to all of us that the friendships and bonds would remain intact, and with the help of her passion, they did.  
  
  
I saw it in her embrace, after she had returned. The way she held me tightly, telling me she missed me.  
  
  
It was Mimi's passion for life that grabbed at me, it always had. A passion well suited to the colour she was so very fond of. A passion suited to the colour of pink.  
  
  
But now, the pink has faded to the crimson of dried blood, as the tragedy of her death is remembered by all. Pointless, senseless, Such a waste of a perfect passionate human being, her life snuffed out like a candle.  
  
  
There was nothing anyone could've done.  
  
  
It wasn't pre-meditated, just a random murder in an Odaiba alley. But taking her life hadn't been enough for whatever sick freak did this, they took her passion, her laughter... her colour.  
  
  
She's here now, surrounded by people who loved her, cared for her, surrounded by a sea of black. It's not where she belongs.  
  
  
I can hear them talking around me, hear Sora sobbing in Matt's arms, hear Ken trying to comfort Yolei, hear Kari's lonely weeping. I glance around, and see that even Tai's eyes are damp with unshed tears.  
  
  
I have so many memories of her, memories that I know will be in my heart forever. One doesn't easily forget one's first love.  
  
  
Ours was a simple love, filled with the wonder and innocence of children. Nobody existed, save for ourselves and the wonderful love we had created.  
  
  
But somewhere deep in our hearts, we both knew it wouldn't last. We were always different colours, she and I. Mimi was a bright vibrant pink, shining into the lives of everyone she touched. Me? I was just navy blue. Dull, dark, reliable of course, but not lively or vibrant.   
  
  
I was hindering her colour.  
  
  
By the end of our relationship, there wasn't a doubt in my mind. Her pink was fading, darkening, and that was the last thing I wanted for her.  
  
  
She tried so hard to cling to the shards of a dying relationship, she fought with everything she had inside of her to make it work. I did too, I wanted it to work, hell, there were times I felt I -needed- it to work. I just couldn't allow her colour, her natural glow, to dissipate because of me.  
  
  
I still remember what her tearstained face looked like. Her eyes, so dull, turned up at me. She had cried, and clung to me, and begged me not to go, but I could see inside her dull eyes, as much as she was fighting me, she knew it needed to happen.  
  
  
For weeks after that night, every time that I saw her, I merely nodded cordially and walked by. She did the same for me. The pain was too fresh. Her colour was still dull.  
  
  
But, I saw it gradually return to her, saw her colour gradually return to the bright and vibrant pink. And when I passed her, we might stop to chat, talk about where our lives were heading, and the foundation of friendship was rebuilt, with the strength of love.  
  
  
I loved her, still do.  
  
  
She was my heart, my soul, my very being... There were days when Mimi was the only reason I got up in the morning. Even now, she's so recently gone that I still wake up in denial.  
  
  
It shouldn't have been her.  
  
  
I'm sure everyone who loses someone close to them feels the same way I do, but that doesn't change a damn thing. This world we live in has become so sad, so cynical... the world needs people of a bright pink. People like Mimi who bring joy to everyone with sincerity, never wanting anything in return.  
  
  
She was selfless in every aspect of her life.  
  
  
The colour pink, formed by an equal merging of white and red. Innocence and Passion. That was the essence of Mimi Tachikawa.  
  
  
Our relationship ended ten months ago, but our love hasn't, our love never will. She'll always be vibrant and colourful to me.  
  
  
I suppose I'll start at the beginning, the -very- beginning.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Summer camp. It was the last place Joe wanted to be. He was allergic to every type of bug, he got seasick, he didn't get along well with a lot of other children... This was, in many ways, the epitome of his own personal hell.  
  
  
The cabins they stayed in were, in Joe's opinion, incredibly stupid. There was a middle section, and to either side were the boys bunks, and the girls bunks. A waste of space. Making separate cabins for each gender would've been far more efficient.  
  
  
To make things even worse, they were bunk beds. Joe hated bunk beds. He was too afraid of heights to sleep on top, and too claustrophobic to sleep on the bottom. In total, this experience wasn't looking good to him.  
  
  
Tossing his bag onto a bed, he went out into the main section. Deserted. Joe's father had dropped him off much earlier than anyone else. Slouching, he sat down on one of the incredibly uncomfortable chairs.  
  
  
He closed his eyes, wishing he was anywhere else.  
  
  
There was some noise from the side of the cabin where the girl's bunks were. "Probably came in when I was in the boy's half." He mused quietly, glancing curiously towards the girl's area.  
  
  
The door was shut, but Joe could hear everything going on. A loud thud, the occasional thunk... someone was unpacking.  
  
  
Seconds later, the door slammed open and a girl wearing the stupidest hat Joe had ever seen burst in. The girl eyed him, before giggling. "Wow! I'm so glad someone's here, could you help me? Please?" She batted her eyelashes, and for some inexplicable reason, Joe was completely drawn to her.  
  
  
"Sure."  
  
  
"Great! Wonderful!" She exclaimed happily, leading him outside.  
  
  
Joe nearly had an asthma attack.  
  
  
In front of the cabin were at least seven suitcases, maybe eight. All of them were stuffed as full as they could be, and all of them were pink.  
  
  
They say you fall in love with people at the most unexplainable points in your life.  
  
  
This was one of them.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Pulling his clothes back on, Joe shivered, and looked at Gomamon. "No! Don't touch that food! We don't know how long we're going to be stuck out here and I don't know what's worse, drowning or starving!"  
  
  
"Calm down or you'll have an asthma attack." Gomamon advised. "I was just looking to see what you had."  
  
  
"A likely story." Joe spat at him, staring over the headboard of the bed her was floating on. "I can't see land anywhere!" The panicked tone was back in his voice.  
  
  
  
Gomamon just shook his head and leaned over the edge, staring down into the water.  
  
  
"What if something's happened to one of the others? Or worse, what if they're all fine and together and don't care that I'm stuck out in the middle of the ocean on a floating bed with barely any food!"  
  
  
His eyes went wide. "Or even worse, what if everyone's floating out here somewhere and we all starve to death?"  
  
  
His Digimon partner flipped over onto his back and eyed Joe. "Do all humans worry as much as you do?"  
  
  
"All the smart ones! And I don't worry, I merely think the worst."  
  
  
"I'm sure everyone's fine, and we'll all meet up with each other again soon." His Digimon lazily closed his eyes. "For now, I say just relax, and go where the sea takes you."  
  
  
"Easy for you to say, I don't know how to swim!"  
  
  
Gomamon shrugged. "Your fault, All the other's know how to swim."  
  
  
"Mimi doesn't."  
  
"She has Palmon to take care of her."  
  
  
"Can Palmon swim?"  
  
  
Gomamon shrugged.  
  
  
"What if Palmon can't swim?" Joe was panicking again. "What will happen to Mimi then?"  
  
  
"Why are you so concerned about Mimi?"  
  
  
Joe stopped for a moment, unable to really explain "I... uh..."  
  
  
Gomamon waddled over to Joe. "Someone likes Mimi!" he teased.  
  
  
"I do not! I'm merely worried for a member of our team, I'd say the same about any of the others, okay? OKAY?! Stop pestering me about this, it's just concern, nothing more! Get off my back already!"  
  
  
Gomamon smirked and closed his eyes again. "I believe you." He lied.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Night watches. If there was something he hated more than bunk beds it was night watches. Everyone else got to sleep, but for two hours Joe Kido had to stay awake, and make sure no evil Digimon tried to attack them. It was just -so- fun.  
  
  
The rock he sat on was uncomfortable, Tai snored far too loudly, Izzy talked in his sleep, it was cold, wet, and Joe was hungry.  
  
  
Sighing, he tossed a rock into the blackness outside of the cave they were all sleeping in.   
  
  
"Joe?"  
  
  
He jumped up and whipped around, stifling a scream.  
  
  
Mimi's tearstained face was in front of him, and she smiled half-heartedly at his fright. "Hi." She said softly.  
  
  
Joe frowned. "Are you okay, Mimi?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.  
  
  
  
She swallowed, and before he knew what was happening she was bawling against his chest. Joe awkwardly tried to soothe her by patting her back gently.  
  
  
"I wanna go home." She admitted finally, pulling back. "I'm tired of fighting people, tired of scrounging for food, tired of being someone's only hope. You can all do this job much better without me anyway."  
  
  
Joe shook his head. "Oh no Mimi, that's not true. We need you, you're as important as anyone else to what's happening here." When she didn't look convinced he tried another tactic to make her feel better. "I want to go home too." He admitted, sitting back down on his uncomfortable rock.  
  
  
Mimi joined him, and he soon found himself sitting half on the rock, half off the side just so she could be comfortable. "What's your family like, Joe?"  
  
  
They sat like that for nearly an hour, sharing stories of home, their families, her friends...  
  
  
"Thank-you, Joe." Mimi said softly, placing a hand on his arm.  
  
  
He was thankful for the darkness, for he felt the heat of a blush creeping into his cheeks. "Anytime."  
  
  
Mimi nodded her affirmation. "Promise me that whenever I'm lonely or scared I'll can talk to you?" she questioned.  
  
  
Joe nodded. "I promise." The words were practically a whisper.  
  
  
She rose, and suddenly bent, pressing her soft lips to his cheek before turning and going back into the depths of the cave.  
  
  
Joe's hand inadvertently reached up to his cheek.  
  
  
******  
  
  
It had been a dumb decision. A completely stupid, dumb decision. "Smart one Joe, there's safety in numbers, just leave the group."  
  
  
He'd acted without thinking, acted from the irrational part of his brain. What else was there to do, he couldn't very well let her go off on her own!  
  
  
He remembered a promise he had made to her, in that cold cave months ago, and sighed. It had been a dumb decision, but one he had to make.  
  
  
Mimi was slightly ahead of him. He scowled when he realized she was skipping. "We're all alone, in a dangerous place, the Dark Master's are probably plotting our violent and painful deaths and she's SKIPPING?" he muttered.  
  
  
Gomamon glanced at Joe, but said nothing.  
  
  
"Don't be such a wet mop, Joe!" Mimi chastised him. "Let some sunshine into your life for once."  
  
  
"Just because you're being irrational and want to get eaten by Piedmon doesn't mean I have to agree with it." He snapped at her.  
  
  
Mimi stopped. "If you didn't want to come with me, why did you volunteer anyway?" She demanded, masking her hurt with anger.  
  
  
"Because I promised to always be there for you!" He spat back.  
  
  
Mimi froze slightly. "You remember that?"  
  
  
"Of course I remember it, I don't make promises I don't intend to honour."  
  
  
"Oh Joe..." She ran at him, and once more Joe found himself trying to soothe Mimi as she bawled against his shirt.  
  
  
"That means so much to me, Joe." She whispered.  
  
  
Joe blushed again.  
  
  
******  
  
  
That's how we found our love. Sporadic instances in the Digital world. I suppose it's ironic, in a way, that we never truly got together until eight years after that, when she returned from America.  
  
  
I remember how she looked when she came barreling from that plane and launched herself straight into my arms. I had held her, felt her in my arms, and she had looked up at me, grinning, and whispered. "I love you, Joe."  
  
  
I had said that same words to her, and our love blossomed.  
  
  
I was in Med. School, she was studying broadcasting at the same university. She was my beautiful lively sprite who brought life to every moment I was with her.  
  
  
I treasured every moment we were together, every smile she gave me, every sound she made when I took her in my arms and we made love. Everything about her was a treasure to me.  
  
  
But most of all I treasured her colour. I treasured the way she could look at any situation and see the bright side.  
  
  
And it was because I treasured that, that I couldn't allow my own darkness to diminish her colour.  
  
  
******  
  
  
They say opposites attract, and to the passing eye there was no pair more opposite that the two sitting beneath a tree in Odaiba park. The girl radiated life from her very essence. The boy looked at her adoringly, but he didn't have her passion. His eyes were shrouded with self-doubt and pessimism.  
  
  
Joe listened to her, and she energetically told him about her day. In her own words is had been "boring" and "nothing had happened" yet she still seemed able to talk about it for close to twenty minutes.  
  
  
Once her tale was finished she smiled up at him. "How was your day?"  
  
  
Joe shrugged. "Boring. Nothing happened."  
  
  
Mimi frowned a little. "Oh, okay..."  
  
  
Their talk turned to other things.  
  
  
******  
  
  
"You've lost your mind."  
  
  
"Joe! I have not! Now put it on!"  
  
  
"Mimi, I'm twenty one years old, I don't dress up for Hallowe'en."  
  
  
She frowned at him. "Come on! It'll be fun!"  
  
  
He shook his head. "No, Mimi."  
  
  
Her frown deepened. "Fine then, I'll go get Yolei, she'll want to dress up with me." She tossed her hair and stalked out.  
  
  
It was at that moment that Joe realized exactly what he was doing to her.  
  
  
"Oh god."  
  
  
******  
  
  
I had been robbing her of her colour, forcing mine on top of hers. There's no excuse for that, no explanation that could ever be enough.  
  
  
That's when I ended it. She begged and pleaded, saying I loved her too much, or she could tell by my eyes I didn't really want this... but for all her optimism, Mimi knew when she was fighting a losing battle.  
  
  
I tore my heart out and left the one woman I truly loved to preserve her colour, and now, only months later some stranger has arbitrarily wiped that colour away forever.  
  
  
Irony's a bitch.  
  
  
I just wish there was some way to give her back her colour. It was the only colour that could ever suit her. Pink. Passionate. Beautiful. Innocent. Sincere. Mimi.  
  
  
She doesn't belong here, in this sea of blackness. It seems so foreign, so unlike her.  
  
  
Mimi was always pink, it was her colour. It was the only colour that ever suited her.  
  
  
******  
  
  
The funeral service had ended, everyone had left the cemetery. The fresh soil indicating a new burial was in front of a tombstone, made of rose marble, marked.  
  
  
Mimi Tachikawa  
You Brought Laughter and Passion to Our Lives  
  
  
Kneeling there, as if it were a sacred altar, a young man, his hair nearly the colour of the navy night sky placed a single flower on top of the many bouquets sitting there.  
  
  
A single pink rose.  
  
  
"I love you, but I suppose you know that." The young man smiled, reminiscing. "You always knew." His smile turned sad. "I couldn't take away your colour Mimi, and now someone else has. I swear, if I ever find out who did this, I'll make sure they see colours...  
  
  
"I made a promise to you once, and now I want you to make a promise to me. Promise me, that wherever you are, whatever there is for you after this life, that you won't ever let anyone take your colour."  
  
FIN.  
  
  
*sniff* it was sad... not really very sure where this one came from, certainly wasn't what I was originally intending with this story... oh well. I love Mimoes... As always, Reviews would make me supremely happy *puppy eyes*  
  
  
Ciao!  



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